Oh, Barbie. You’re truly the epitome of stereotypical femininity. You’re good influence as much as you’re bad. And in 2009, a restaurant opened in China in your honour (sorta?). Unfortunately, it was short-lived. Poor Barbie!
Okay, but on a serious note, Barbie has inspired many things in her 50 odd years existence such as little girls’ imaginations, dreams, artwork, feminist ire, fashion/style, and many more. Now, a Barbie Café (a restaurant dedicated to Barbie, of course) has opened its pink doors in Taiwan and it’s..all pink.
Well, would you have expected any less?
Taiwan is known to house many, many theme restaurants. For example, in Taipei, there’s a restaurant based on eating in an airliner, complete with air hostess waiting staff and trolleys. Why in the world? There’s also a hospital-themed bar, where customers consume “medicine” drinks from drips or are “syringed” by waitresses. Uh, okay. Let’s not forget their toilet-themed restaurant, where food is served from tiny lavatories and customers sit on loo seats.
In any case, the Barbie Café has been licensed by Mattel so nothing will ever go awkwardly wrong. The US toy manufacturing giant and creator of Barbie said that they hope that the café will promote Barbie as a fashion brand. And true to their purpose, the staff at the café sport uniforms of pink Barbie logo T-shirts, matching tutus, Barbie logo armbands and glitter, and, get this, tiaras on their heads.
There are also hopes that the café will attract Barbie fans from China, Hong Kong, and Japan. Alright, count Malaysia in because we’re booking the first flight out to go check it out!
Click to view more pictures of the all new Barbie Café in Taiwan!
Sources: The Straits Times, South China Morning Post, The Telegraph.
